Futures hold as Powell set to take center stage in Jackson Hole

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole economic symposium for clues on interest rate cuts in the world’s largest economy.

While minutes from the Fed’s July meeting this week showed a number of policymakers were ready to consider rate cuts in September, Powell’s speech could offer some guidance on the pace of easing and how the central bank will respond as the economy evolves.

Powell is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) at the annual global meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“The question is whether he will go so far as to open the door to a 50bp move – if not in September, then later this year,” said ING strategist Francesco Pesole.

Traders have fully priced in a scenario in which the Fed begins easing interest rates at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, with a 74% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Recent data, including weekly jobless claims and wage revisions, have signaled that the U.S. economy is slowing, albeit gradually, easing fears of a sharp slowdown.

That helped Wall Street’s three major indexes recover from a slide earlier this month triggered by a disappointing July jobs report and the yen carry trade. The S&P 500 is now about 1.8% from a record high reached in mid-July, after falling as much as 9.7% from that level.

As of 5:07 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were up 109 points, or 0.27%, while the S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.4% at 5,616.25. The Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 126 points, or 0.64%.

Shares of Workday jumped 11% in premarket trading after the human resources software provider beat market expectations for second-quarter revenue and announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan.

Ross Stores shares gained 5.7% after the discount retailer raised its profit forecast for fiscal 2024.

Later in the day, data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Census Bureau is expected to show that new home sales stabilized in July after hitting a seven-month low in June.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Devika Syamnath)